1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driver authentication apparatus and method for identifying and authenticating a car driver or the like.
This application is based on Patent Application No. Hei 11-238944 filed in Japan, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, cars have gradually come to employ (i) controls suitable for the personality or taste of the driver who drives the car, or (ii) driver authentication for crime prevention, and thus identification of the driver is necessary. Therefore, driver identification having a simple operation and a high accuracy has been required.
Conventionally, such driver identification is performed using an ID key or ID card. As an example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication, Hei 11-122162 discloses a system in which ID information on the driver and all passengers is registered using ID cards when they get into the car, and if a telephone call or the like is received while driving, the addressee of the call (that is, the driver, or another passenger) is detected so as to perform an information distribution control.
On the other hand, in order to perform the driver authentication without an ID key or ID card, fingerprints or voice data (i.e., voiceprints), known as general individual authentication means, may be employed.
The conventional example using an ID key or ID card has the problem such that if the ID key or ID card is illegally acquired and used, or if the driver changes while driving, then authentication is not accurately performed. On the other hand, in conventional examples using fingerprints or voiceprints, an additional operation (which is generally unnecessary) is imposed on the driver, which is troublesome for the driver.
In consideration of the above circumstances, an objective of the present invention is to provide a driver authentication apparatus and method employing a simpler method for identifying and directly authenticating the driver without using an object such as an ID key or ID card and without a specific additional operation for the driver.
Therefore, the present invention provides a driver authentication apparatus for authenticating a driver who drives a vehicle, comprising:
a feature amount storing section for storing preset feature data of each registered driver;
an operation detecting section for detecting an operation performed by the driver, and outputting data indicating details of the operation; and
a feature data managing section for storing the data output from the operation detecting section and generating operation feature data of the driver based on the stored data, and comparing the operation feature data with the present feature data stored in the feature amount storing section and determining any identity between the compared operation and preset feature data.
The data output from the operation detecting section may include an operation amount or degree of the operation.
The present apparatus may comprise a plurality of operation detecting sections for detecting operations performed by the driver, and outputting data indicating details of each operation, and wherein the feature data managing section stores the data output from each operation detecting section and generating the operation feature data of the driver by extracting and combining some of the stored data.
Typically, the present apparatus includes a computer system, and the operation of the feature data managing section is realized by executing the steps of a program, loaded from a storage medium, by the CPU of the computer system. The feature amount storing section can be realized by using a storage medium in the computer system, and effective data reading/storing operations can be performed by using a database function provided in the computer system. The operation detecting section(s) detect a physical motion or the like of each operation portion, and transmit the detected result via a signal line to the CPU.
In the present invention, it is possible to identify the actual driver with one of the already-registered drivers based on features extracted with reference to the general driving operations of the driver, thereby authenticating the driver without an ID key or ID card, and without the driver performing any addition special operation.
The present apparatus may further comprise:
a control parameter storing section for storing control parameters specific to each of the registered drivers; and
a control parameter reading section for reading out the control parameters specific to the driver identified by the feature data managing section from the control parameter storing section.
Preferably, the control parameter storing section is realized by using a rewritable nonvolatile memory in the above computer system, and the data in the memory can be read out by the control parameter reading section provided in the CPU in the computer system.
Accordingly, the control parameters which are necessary for driving the vehicle and are specific to the identified driver can be used, thereby performing driving control suitable for the taste or driving characteristics of the driver. In addition, the driver""s operations can be simplified, and a useful effect such as raising an alarm or crime prevention can be obtained.
The present invention also provides a driver authentication method (corresponding to the above driver authentication apparatus) for authenticating a driver who drives a vehicle, comprising:
a feature amount storing step for storing preset feature data of each registered driver;
an operation detecting step for detecting an operation performed by the driver, and outputting data indicating details of the operation; and
a feature data managing step for storing the data output in the operation detecting step and generating operation feature data of the driver based on the stored data, and comparing the operation feature data with the present feature data stored in the feature amount storing step and determining any identity between the compared operation and preset feature data.
The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a control program executed by a computer in a driver authentication apparatus for authenticating a driver who drives a vehicle, the program comprising:
an operation storing means for inputting and storing data indicating details of an operation performed by the driver;
a feature data generating means for generating operation feature data of the driver based on the data stored by the operation storing means, according to a predetermined data generating procedure; and
a driver identifying means for comparing the feature data generated in the feature data generating means with preset feature data which has already been stored in a storage medium, and determining any identity between the compared operation and preset feature data.
The data input and stored by the operation storing means may include an operation amount or degree of the operation.
Data indicating details of a plurality of operations performed by the driver may be input and stored by the operation storing means; and, some of the data stored by the operation storing means may be extracted and combined by the feature data generating means so as to generate the operation feature data.
Typically, the above driver authentication apparatus has a computer system, and the CPU of the computer system loads and executes the present control program stored in the storage medium. According to the control program, it is possible to identify the actual driver with one of the already-registered drivers based on features extracted with reference to the general driving operations of the driver, thereby authenticating the driver.
The control program may further comprise a control parameter reading means for reading out control parameters specific to the driver identified by the driver identifying means, from a storage device for storing control parameters specific to each of registered drivers.
Accordingly, the control parameters specific to the identified driver can be read out, thereby performing automatic vehicle control specific to and suitable for the driver by using the control parameters.